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“Writing a Paper” by George Whitesides is fantastically useful. Only three pages long, it is a succinct guide to writing a cogent, coherent article from the questions, experiments, and data that are swirling in your mind.

The central message is to formulate, early in the life of a project, an outline to direct your thoughts and data collection.

“No project is ever complete, and it saves enormous effort and much time to propose a plausible paper and outline as soon as you see the basic structure of a project.”

“Writing a Paper” also offers details for composing each section of your article, as well as style/diction tips. The full pdf is available through Advanced Materials or by searching on Google Scholar.

(I’m aware this was published in 2004, but I encountered it just last week at the Prof 101 workshop, thanks to Professors Jennings and Rogers.)